Regardless of how you feel about the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal of U.S. troops and Afghan support personnel from Afghanistan, we are now faced with another humanitarian dilemma - what do to with the refugees who are being resettled in the United States.

Will we embrace them as we should, showing them the respect that they earned by their willingness to risk theirs and their families’ lives by serving as translators, support personnel and engage in other high-risk jobs? Or will we be suspicious, even hostile to them as they try to fit into our culture and build new lives for themselves?

I hope it is the former and not the latter. Pennsylvania has been one of several states with both Democrat and Republican governors which have welcomed these refugees with open arms. They are being dispersed to various locations around the state, including the Lehigh Valley.

More than 30 have arrived in our area, and more are scheduled to come in the coming weeks.

As is the case with so many issues these days, there are signs that the refugee resettlement program in the Keystone State is splintering along party lines. Some state Republicans who are candidates for statewide office are urging President Joe Biden to hold up on the numbers who come, saying that there needs to be enough time to make sure each is vetted properly.

No one quarrels with this concept. We want to make sure that some bad actors are not among the refugees. Remember, though, there was a vetting process already in place before they were allowed to board planes to several processing points in the Mideast and Germany, then vetted again before being put aboard a plane to the United States.

Pennsylvania GOP U.S. Senate candidate Sean Parnell said, “We can’t bring 30,000 unvetted refugees to the United States. It is an irresponsible policy, and, quite frankly, I can’t believe we even have to have this conversation.”

Craig Snyder, an anti-Trump Republican who is running against Parnell in next year’s GOP primary, said Parnell was ignoring the history of how Jewish, Cuban and Vietnamese refugees and others have “proven to be among the most loyal and contributing Americans.”

I was pleased that Gov. Tom Wolf reminded us that our state was founded on the ideals of peace, tolerance and safety for all people. We tend to lose sight of this, especially when hate crimes are near historic highs.

“It is incumbent on us to model the ideals on which Pennsylvania was founded and be a welcoming home for any who seek safe refuge in the United States,” Wolf said.

Wolf pledged that Pennsylvania stands ready to serve in this capacity. He added that Pennsylvanians should join the Biden administration’s efforts to safely relocate and resettle those who are fleeing humanitarian crises.

Bethany Christian Services has agreed to resettle 135 Afghan refugees in Pennsylvania, specifically 30 through its Allentown office, 50 in the Pittsburgh area, 30 in the Lancaster area and 25 through its Jenkintown office.

While most of those coming to the Lehigh Valley will be resettled in Lehigh and Northampton counties, it is possible that a handful may be placed in surrounding counties such as Carbon, Schuylkill and Monroe. Along with this, there are other efforts taking shape in the three counties to consider sponsoring some additional refugees.

These refugees will need to navigate the peculiarities of a new culture and language, such as cooking meals, going to a supermarket and learning about their new community. These organizations which have come forward to help resettle the refugees are accepting donations of clothing, school supplies, gift cards and any household items that might help in the resettlement.

According to a Bethany Christian Services spokesman, Afghan refugees will not have access to government-sponsored support programs. The organization has urged Congress to make public assistance available.

Those supporting the resettlement are urging the government and us Americans to remember the many Afghanistan citizens who helped the U.S. war effort and who were left behind. Efforts are ongoing to find a way for them to leave their homeland because they are concerned that the Taliban will resume the brutal retribution against those who helped us during our country’s longest war.

I was pleased to see the results of a CBS News-YouGov poll that showed 81% of Americans support welcoming Afghans who helped the United States.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.